Pirates All-Star CF rediscovers swing to get 'back to the Bryan Reynolds we know and love'

After struggling to find his swing for the first two months of the season, Bryan Reynolds finally is starting to feel like himself. That’s a simply stated but powerful development for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Especially if it means Reynolds is returning to All-Star form.

Over the eight-game road trip to Atlanta and St. Louis, the Pirates center fielder had a .536/.548/.964 slash line with a double, triple, three home runs and seven RBIs. He hit the go-ahead, two-run homer Wednesday in the 6-4 win over the Cardinals to snap a nine-game losing streak.

“I think he’s gotten back to the Bryan Reynolds we know and love,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “and expect.”

No one expected more from Reynolds than himself.

After batting .302/.390/.522 with 35 doubles, eight triples, 24 homers and 90 RBIs last season, when he was selected to the Midsummer Classic, was a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger finalist and finished 11th in NL MVP voting, Reynolds avoided arbitration by signing a two-year contract worth $13.5 million. Even though he showed little emotion on the outside, Reynolds felt pressure to perform.

“I think everybody does. We’re all human,” Reynolds said. “I don’t want to go out there and not play well. Obviously, I wasn’t happy with that. … I hadn’t hit the panic button all the way down after the slump started, but obviously it feels good to be in the box and get a pitch I should hit hard and hit it hard and having a string of games together like the road trip.”

He started the season in a serious slump. Reynolds batted .194 in April, was hitting .212 by the end of May and was sitting at .216 at the completion of the last homestand.

Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes watched how “diligently” Reynolds fought his plate scuffles, taking early batting practice on the field, extra swings in the cage with hitting coach Andy Haines and continuing to keep his body strong by lifting weights.

“Early on, he was struggling a bit with a timing issue, things of that nature, maybe under the ball a little bit,” Hayes said, “but I don’t think anyone was too worried because we know he works hard every single day, and it was only a matter of time before it would click.”

Shelton traces Reynolds’ struggles to his swing decisions, citing his aggressive takes on pitches in the strike zone early in counts that “he couldn’t do damage with.” It showed in his metrics, as Reynolds has hit .200 against sinkers and .236 against four-seamers, per Statcast.

Then it clicked. Reynolds was 3 for 4 with a solo homer and double in the 10-4 loss last Saturday at Atlanta, 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer in a 5-3 loss to the Braves on Sunday and 2 for 3 with a triple and the two-run shot in Wednesday’s win over the Cardinals.

“The thing that’s really stood out now is he’s making sure the pitches he swings at are the pitches he should swing at,” Shelton said. “Just the consistency of staying within the at-bat is something that eluded him. Now we’re seeing him start to swing at the right pitches, get the right pitches to hit — and he’s not missing them.”

Nor did Reynolds miss an opportunity when a punchline presented itself after he was reminded that his recent surge came just in time for the Pirates to relentlessly promote his bobblehead night Saturday.

“It was all that,” Reynolds deadpanned. “I just need a bobblehead weekly.”

Reynolds would settle for consistent success with his swing, especially with the Pirates playing a seven-game homestand against the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs.

“I’m trying to be direct, on time and aggressive,” Reynolds said. “I feel like myself. It’s good to have that. Hopefully, I’ll keep it going.”